Meddlesome Affairs
by Faolain
Summary: Draco wants to marry but can't because of Severus and his lack of status in pureblood society. Lucius thinks that Britain's most insufferable mudblood is the answer to said problem. AU, SS/HG Warnings: plotting Slytherins, adult scenes in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

It's all JK's except for plot and original characters.

**Meddlesome Affairs**

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. (*)

England's pureblood society of the wizarding world agreed on the fact, that a single man was in need of a wife and a single, honourable woman was in need of an husband and yet there were cases in which no pureblood would have given a daughter away for marriage.

One case was Severus Snape. Despite his status as a war hero and his achievements he was known for his stoic and antisocial mannerism. The other case was known by the Name of Draco Malfoy. He was taken out of the game because he was closely acquainted with the potions master, considering that he was his godson.

While Severus Snape had given up on love and marriage and didn't care about continuing his bloodline his godson had reached the tender age of 25 and was more than eager to marry an adequate, beautiful and aristocratic witch to continue his family's noble bloodline. Therefore he was faced with the problem that the general opinion about him, his intentions and family wasn't the highest since the end of the war and he was desperately looking for a way to re-establish himself in the better part of society. He did everything in his power to stick to the rules of pureblood etiquette and thus he found himself making one of his rare social calls to Azkaban on a cold and stormy Sunday afternoon in late September since abandoning ones parents wasn't part of the list that would help him to climb the ladder to his rightful place at the top.

Azkaban still was Draco's least favourite place in the world next to Hogwarts. The dementors were back along with a few more human guards than before. How anybody could stand the freezing cold, the rotting smell of fish and the salty sea topped with happiness draining creatures floating around was beyond him. Even the small visiting-cell with it's warm fireplace reeked of fish and algae, the person across from him on the opposite side of the wooden table didn't smell any better.

Lucius Malfoy looked just as shabby as his current surroundings. His face was grimy and he was sporting a three-day stubble. The long blond hair looked wild and had started to get a greyish hue to it. His thin prisoner clothes didn't look any better than the rest of him. Yet the man walked with the grace of an aristocrat, sat down on the hard, unupholstered wooden chair in perfect manner and looked at his son with recognition and his usual arrogance.

"Well my son, do you bring good news?" Under normal circumstances no Slytherin would have talked so boldly but they both knew that their time to talk in private was limited; there wasn't time to waste with formalities.

"No father, there's no change in my status." Lucius' brows rose.

"That's disappointing to hear. How is your mother?"

"Fine." Neither said a word for a few minutes, the situation was still awkward for both of them. Lucius still wasn't used to being wandless after all the years in prison, he hated the feeling of being left without his power. Draco wasn't comfortable because he was in Azkaban and seeing his father, his role model, like that made him sick.

"Is that all you have to tell me or is there anything else? Probably something of importance for once?", he sneered.

"Indeed there is something. I've heard a rumour that I'm not improving because Severus is part of the family." Again a statement so bold that Salazar Slytherin would have turned in his grave if he could have heard two of the finest members of his noble and pure house talk like that.

"Ah.."

"What do you think about that, father?"

"The question is not what I'm thinking Draco. The question is what you are thinking about that." He looked his son straight in the eyes and stared, a thing that made the young blonde across from him shiver slightly.

"I honestly do not know what to think of it. I see no harm in him."

"Obviously his reputation seems to do harm to yours, Draco. Pray tell, is Severus of any use to you? Is his acquaintance beneficial? What do you get out of it?"

Silence followed and Lucius snorted.

"That's about as good as nothing, Draco. If he's of no benefit than get rid of him."

"But father! Severus is my godfather! He is FAMILY!" Pureblood etiquette had one rule above all. Family first. Lucius rolled his eyes.

"Tsk tsk tks… didn't I teach you anything? Discretion, boy!"

Draco looked horrified.

"No. You're asking to much of me father."

"You either get rid of him or you make him more agreeable to the public. Removing him from your person seems to be the easiest way, Draco. Or you could do…" Lucius smirked and his eyes lit up as a plan began to form in his head. He hadn't plotted anything for quite some time given the circumstances and he was practically glowing with excitement.

"Both."

"Both, father? How?"

"Yes, both. It's easy, really."

"What do you have in mind, father?"

"Well son, it looks like your own plans for marriage need to be taken away for a while. Making him agreeable and getting rid of him can be done in one single straw. Find him a bride."

"A bride?" Draco was positive by now that Azkaban wasn't good for his father's mental health.

"Yes." Lucius almost hissed. "It's really that easy, can't you see it? Envision it!"

"I don't see why my own future should suffer because of him."

"Listen, Draco. You'll find him a bride. A woman by his side would make him more human to the public and while we're at it… find someone who is utterly disagreeable to your dear mother." The gleeful smirk on Lucius' face grew, if Narcissa was displeased she would show that without hesitation to someone who was considered a member of the family.

"The ties between our families will slowly subside. Knowing Severus he won't make public comments about a falling out, so you can meet with him secretly if you still desire to do so."

"That's… brilliant. But impossible. Where would I find a woman that's agreeable to him but disagreeable to mother?"

"You really didn't learn a single thing from me, did you? You are a Slytherin for Merlin's sake!"

"If it comes to that he is picky as hell! Sometimes I think he's not interested in women at all! She must be an awful lot like him to bear with him! He likes intelligent conversation which in his case is of the academic sort. On top of that she shouldn't be old or ugly but she must accept... well... him. Besides she needs to coop with his temper and his lack of social manners! Do you know any woman that would fit? I don't!"

The young Malfoy was sure that such a woman didn't exist. Well educated and beautiful witches were usually purebloods and therefore not disagreeable to his mother. And who would bother to date the greasy git of the dungeons? It wasn't that his godfather wasn't in the possession of proper manners, he just never bothered to use them around others because he didn't care what people thought about him.

"Yes, you do know such a woman. You are working with her." This time Draco's blonde brows rose.

"I am working with her? Father, I'm working with – Oh." He suddenly realised were this was going and he shook his head. "Oh no, that won't work! Are you insane? He hates her and she dislikes him!"

"My boy as I said you are a Slytherin. Change their opinion of each other. The mudblood would be perfect. She's addicted to books, she can converse and she has no proper manners herself, so she certainly wouldn't mind. And as far as you informed me she isn't attached to anyone. As for his temper… Think of all the things poor Severus went through and use it to picture him as the suffering hero." Lucius sneered nastily.

"Make her see, Draco. Gryffindors tend to have a rather big heart and lots of compassion. Teach her how to handle him. And to make it perfect she is a mudblood. Narcissa will be devastated about that."

Draco smiled brightly at his father. "I knew it was a good idea to discuss this with you."

He could see it clearly before his inner eye; Granger would fit the bill. If he could giver her appearance a make over somehow and work on her manners she would fit it even more. As he left the prison half an hour later the ferryman that brought him back to the apparition point outside the small island wondered how anyone with a sane mind could leave Azkaban, probably the unhappiest place in the world, in such a merry mood as Draco Malfoy did that day.

* * *

AN:

I **LOVE** meddling and plotting Slytherins! :D What about you?

This story is a little plot bunny that bit me. I don't really know where this will be going but as long as I'm getting a writers block when I'm trying to write something for my other stories I'll use this one to get back into the flow :)

(*) Jane Austen – Pride And Prejudice, Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione Granger didn't know what hit her as she entered her office on Monday morning. Her morning hadn't been particularly good. Her hair looked messier than usual, she had spilled her coffee over her morning Prophet, had tripped over her cat thrice and had ended up in a big puddle of mud when she had apparated to the ministry, dropping her wand in it in the process.

On her desk sat a bouquet of big sunflowers and her chair was occupied by none other than Draco Malfoy himself. She just stood in the doorway and stared; the feeling that her morning wasn't going to be better anytime soon creeping up her back. Malfoy looked up from the newspaper he was reading and grinned.

"Good morning to you too, Granger. Staring isn't the nicest way to say hello, you know?"

"What in Merlin's name are you doing in here?"

"I wonder how you failed to notice that I decorated your office for you." He pointed to the huge bouquet that sat in a vase that looked like a big Halloween pumpkin on her desk. It was definitely looking out of place in her sterile, neat and tidy office. She usually didn't decorate; the thing with plants was that she forgot to water them and portraits were removed for safety reasons. She knew that Dumbledore had often used them to spy on others and she wasn't keen on letting her work related secrets out to the public. The walls were lined with ceiling-high bookshelves filled with books about magical law enforcement. The brunette eyed her visitor with suspicion, his face practically glowed. A sign that he was up to something.

"I hate to repeat myself Malfoy, but what are you doing in here? Your office is opposite of mine; don't tell me you got lost." Malfoy smiled sheepishly. Yes, she was perfect for Severus, she even managed to use his inquisitive demanding tone sometimes.

"You do know that Halloween is next month, do you?", he started. Her eyebrows rose at this as she eyed the flowers and the strange vase again; her eyes lingering on the pumpkin vase a little longer.

"And you're practising your scaring skills on me by giving me flowers?" Sarcasm. Yes, perfect.

"Err, no. Not quite. But considering you turned all my previous invitations to the manor down it might scare you that there comes an invitation with the flowers."

"An invitation? To what?"

"To the Halloween reception at the manor, stupid. You did not attend last year and the year before and the year before that and so on and this year I decided that I'll come and drag you to my respectable home if you refuse to show up again." This thing wasn't so bad after all. When Granger appeared at his little get together it would probably do some good to his status too.

"Malfoy, I'm busy. I can't."

"Oh yes, you can. I already arranged that. You're having the day off and the day after is a Saturday. No excuses."

Hermione froze on the spot. "Care to repeat that? You did what!"

"You heard me, Granger."

"What if I was otherwise engaged for that evening?"

"We both know that you aren't but if you were you could bring him along." He smirked at her and the colour of her face changed to tomato red. Draco expected an explosion; the dating topic was highly forbidden in her presence, especially if it was concerning her own love life but none came.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I am indeed engaged otherwise. In case you do not know, that means that I already have plans, Draco."

"Really?" He looked as if he was deeply in thought. If she was dating someone he needed to put a stop to this immediately or his plan would be ruined before he even had a chance to start. "Bring him along if you like, it's not as if you're expected to come alone."

"Her." He faked a shocked expression at her exclamation.

"Bloody hell, don't tell me you're into girls? THAT would explain a lot!"

"Malfoy! That is absolutely none of your business!"

"So you are!"

"No. If you must know I'm spending the evening with Ginny." Perfect. Gryffindors were so easy to read, he didn't even need to ask. It just took a little bit of provoking and she would tell him everything on her own. He eyed her intently.

"So you're having an affair with dear Mrs. Potter. Naughty naughty Hermione. And I thought you were friends with the boy who lived and lived and lived. Maybe I underestimated you." His object of interest sighed and shook her head.

"Sod off, Draco." The blond nonchalantly folded his newspaper and flashed her a dashing smile before he got to his feet and bowed in front of her.

"Gladly, my lady! I'll pick you up for lunch so we can work out the details. And I'm of course extending my invitation to Mrs. Potter and her husband."

After Draco had left Hermione sat down and sighed deeply. Good morning, indeed. Malfoy was a case she had yet to figure out. He had been a prick in school and now he seemed to be completely different, almost like he was another person and not himself at all. But who was she to judge? Had she ever known the true Draco Malfoy during her time at Hogwarts? He always had been liked and respected among the Slytherins so he probably always had been a pleasant conversationalist; sometimes he was also fun to be around. Maybe Draco the Muggle-born hater she had known at school had been an act or he was pulling out an incredible act right now. He also managed to make her laugh and cheer her up when she was in a foul mood sometimes; the people who possessed that ability were, including Draco, countable on one hand. She briefly wondered if his father knew how his son was behaving; she doubted that he had a clue about his son not walking around like a snobbish prat with a stick in his arse.

Of course Draco had never lost his aristocratic attitude but he also carried himself with a certain airiness that made it easy for people to like him to some degree. Malfoy could still be a bastard, he regular showed that side of him off in the courtroom and yet he was different towards almost everyone she saw him interacting with. Not that it were many people. After the battle his family was disgraced in pureblood society, with one of his childhood friends dead and shunned by the rest he probably was a very lonely man, she couldn't remember him ever mentioning friends. Maybe it was just his Slytherin discretion about any- and everything or maybe he truly considered her as a friend now since he only had a few or no one else. Hiding someone's allies and loyalties was typical for his house, that was at least what had spared him and his mother a life in prison. His father hadn't been so fortunate and she was rather glad about that.

Draco would probably still play after his father's rules and she would have honestly feared the immediate rise of another dark lord after Voldemort's downfall. Lucius was intelligent, cunning and usually very discrete about the strings he pulled, it wouldn't be a surprise if he was pulling at least some from Azkaban. He loved his power way too much to give it up so easily.

Hermione sat down on her desk and carefully picked the invitation card up and studied the neat handwriting that obviously wasn't Draco's. She had never seen her name written in such a way. It was a beautiful, flowing, neat and admirable feminine script; obviously his mother was in charge of the invitations. A picture of Narcissa Malfoy appeared in her head and she wondered if everything about lady Malfoy was pretty. Hermione couldn't remember much of her, she knew that she wasn't the friendliest person towards Muggle-borns but she had saved Harry's life. Even covered in blood, dirt and other remains of the last battle she had looked elegant and graceful when she had entered the great hall in search of her son all those years ago.

She had often wondered on who's side Narcissa Malfoy had been on. She was supportive of her husband and exceedingly devoted to her son but she hadn't seemed like a death eater to her. On that terrible day she was dragged to the Malfoy's home by Greyback she had witnessed an argument between Narcissa and Bellatrix, then there was Snape's vow in order to protect her son so maybe Draco's mother had been on the good side or at least in a zone that was neither black or white from the beginning. She wondered if Narcissa had been disgusted by the idea of writing an invitation to her or if the whole blood purity thing was born in the head of her husband. Sirius came from the same household so maybe there was a chance that Mrs. Malfoy wasn't that agreeing with the pureblood ways too.

Hermione set the card down and stared at it for a minute. This time she was in serious trouble, it looked like she couldn't avoid the manor any longer and since she had already told him with whom she would spend her evening she couldn't chicken out of it by telling him that she had found a man that was willing to go on a date with her. Cursing herself seemed to be a nice option or probably a well aimed little hex at Draco for his typical Slytherin ability to gather information from people the way he had just gotten that out of her would ease her mind.

She had never told anyone but she still dreamed about the things that had happened at the manor. The faces, the noise, even the smell of the carpet and her own blood was present in her mind that she feared a panic attack the moment she would enter the building. There was no way out, she either faced her demons and went to the party, probably making a fool out of herself by collapsing stricken down with panic or she could tell Draco and decline the invitation again. The first one was tempting but the latter seemed to be the better option and she decided to tell him during lunch.

* * *

AN: It's been a while! I was so overwhelmed with the positive reactions to the first chapter and the huge amount of people who put the story on their alerts! I can't express how happy I am :D

And last but not least, I've finally come up with ideas for future chapters so I now know in what kind of direction I'll take this little story. I can't wait to write it all down so hopefully the next chapter will be up a lil' faster! Stay tuned and please review, let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

Lunchtime arrived faster than ever after an uneventful morning and Hermione found herself sitting in front of Draco in a small café in Muggle London, nibbling on a piece of fruit cake. It was her favourite but today the lovely red strawberries tasted like nothing; the nervousness numbing any pleasure she usually obtained from her most loved cake. It still amazed her that Malfoy was willing to go to Muggle London this often but she supposed that he hated to be stared at like he was growing a second head as much as she did; so getting away from Diagon Alley was a logical choice.

Draco nonchalantly leaned back in the wooden chair he occupied and watched her intently; his eyes switching between her thin fingers and her lips every time she took a bite. He just caught a glimpse of her tongue and felt a familiar little tug in his groin and shook his head, brushing all thoughts that went in that direction away. This wasn't the time to get distracted by Granger of all people! He surely needed to find himself a god lay soon or else certain needs would probably make it more than just a little difficult to carry out with his plan. Unless he changed plans.

He could always try to disgrace himself further; lure her into his bed, marry her and be done with his father and the rest of the noble purebloods. Her status of birth aside she wasn't that bad; her style needed to be fixed and she was in need of quite a few pureblood manners but in spite of those things she was decent enough. Her status in public was a plus, she was powerful and definitely everything but a birdbrain. He'd probably lose the purebloods but he might gain the trust of others by marrying the war heroine in front of him. Or maybe he should just make a call to a certain witch he hadn't seen in quite a while...

The woman in front of him sighed and Draco also didn't miss the contemplating look on her face.

"What's the matter? I can tell there's something on your mind."

Hermione sighed. "Yes indeed, there is."

"You're not trying to make up excuses to decline my invitation again, are you?" He looked her directly in the eyes, making her squirm in her seat a bit. It amused him that the one and only Hermione Granger squirmed under his stare.

"No, not at all. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about that." Her eyes scanned the area before she carefully threw up a notice-me-not charm and a silencing spell around them. They were in Muggle London but better be safe than sorry because she had absolutely no desire to let anyone else, especially a certain beetle, listening in on the conversation that was to be held.

"There's a reason why I declined every invitation. And I'm afraid same reason will make me decline this one too. I'm sorry Draco, but war leaves people with certain..." She paused to search for the right words and looked at the remnants of her cake. "Memories." She grimaced as a brief flash of the happening at Malfoy Manor crossed her mind.

Draco's look darkened. "My dear aunt Bellatrix, I presume?" He had never liked his mad aunt in the first place but if she would ruin his plans again he would find a way to revive her and kill her just for the pleasure of doing so.

"Yes." An uncomfortable silence followed. Draco stared at Hermione, his grey eyes never leaving hers, while she tried not to look at him; the table suddenly seemed to be much more interesting than his face. It was more than just embarrassing that she was still afraid but confirming it to him, a Slytherin, while she was from the house of bravery just wasn't her favourite situation.

"Bellatrix my ass, where did that ridiculous Gryffindor courage of yours go to?"

"Courage has nothing to do with the things that haunt you at night. It does not control the things you are afraid of or not. Courage can help you to overcome fears but it doesn't mean you're a fearless person."

"And let's say you knew you were okay being in the manor you would attend?"

"I think so."

The Slytherin watched her for a brief moment before he released the breath he was holding. If she wasn't willing to enter his house it would complicate everything and put his plan into jeopardy. Severus rarely showed himself to the public so the only chance of a meeting between the two was at Malfoy Manor.

"How about a deal? You'll visit sometime soon and we will see where that gets you. If you freak out or anything like that I'll never invite you again. The room was completely redecorated afterwards, I don't see why you should suffer from any nasty flashbacks."

Hermione eyed him. Something was definitely off with Malfoy, he was way too nice for her taste.

"Why are you so persistent? What is it that you truly want? Why do you keep inviting me?"

The blond looked at her with a slightly shocked expression. He almost forgot that he was dealing with someone in the possession of a quick and sharp mind. He needed to make up something she would believe without a doubt.

"Well... The truth is: I want to introduce you to my friends." She stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't give me that look, it's true! We've been working quite well together for a few years now and I dare to consider you one of my closer acquaintances. Of course I talked about you with my friends and I want you to meet them. Actually, they don't believe me that we are something along the lines of friends." He finished his sentence with a small sigh, and tried to look a little depressed.

"And why is that so?"

"Because you never show up anywhere near me in public aside from working hours! Wizarding public I mean... You never visit! You need to understand that it's some kind of tradition to openly show yourself with someone if you consider them friends or something like... allies. I know you don't know much about those traditions but I think learning about them could be beneficial to you too."

The situation was too perfect to be true; now he also had an excuse to introduce her to some proper pureblood manners and Slytherin traditions. The woman in front of him still looked at him wearily before she sighed and pushed a strand of stray hair out of her face.

"Fine. When do you have time?"

Draco's eyes lit up. Hermione had totally bought his little lies, fooling Gryffindors was way too easy. "Are you free on Saturday afternoon? I can pick you up around three if you'd like."

"Yes, sounds fine to me." Hermione's voice was lacking any enthusiasm, she wasn't keen on visiting the manor at all.

The rest of lunchtime went by rather uneventful. They finished their meals in silence and went back to work the usually way via side along Apparition to the Leaky Cauldron and a quiet walk trough Diagon Alley back to their offices in the ministry building. Most ministry workers were still not used to the sight of Granger and Malfoy walking side by side through the halls but today even the ones who usually didn't pay the two participants of the war any attention noticed that something was off about the pair.

Usually Granger and Malfoy were seen stalking through the halls with dead serious or neutral expressions on their faces, nodding their greetings to colleagues and in case of Hermione Granger exchanging a few words with closer acquaintances like the junior under-secretary Weasley, Auror Potter or minister Shaklebolt himself on the way. Sometimes Malfoy was seen with a look of contemplation on his face but today it was different. Advocate Malfoy looked all the way like a cat that had gotten the cream while advocate Granger looked like she was about to scream out in frustration; her arms crossed in front of her chest. Those who noticed would soon spread word that Malfoy and Granger must have had a fight – it couldn't be anything else, their expressions were showing the obvious. Malfoy must have won and Granger, the loser, was sulking. Soon the onlookers would start to ask themselves if the fight had been a work related one or if there was something more to Granger and Malfoy. And so the fast rumour mills of the ministry, which had been extremely quiet for a while, set to work once again.

Around five Hermione called it a day. The afternoon hadn't improved her foul mood and she felt the need to flee from her office to her private sanctuary; away from annoying incompetent people. Mr. Puck, a short plump balding man with grey hair who was a former subordinate of hers had stormed into her office thrice because of a minor incident in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, which wasn't her area anymore and a secretary from someone she didn't even know managed to lose files on the way to the main office of the Wizengamot. She hastily threw her belongings into her bag, warded her office to prevent a scene like the one she was part of this morning and stalked through the corridors of the ministry towards the apparition point, not caring that she got more attention from the crowd of people than she usually got. She was used to the attention by now and usually ignored it as much as she could. On her way out she was held up by several people who 'absolutely' needed her opinion on something and also by Albert Runcorn who told her for the millionth time that her plan to disguise themselves as ministry workers back in wartime had been absolutely brilliant and that she had risen his opinion of muggle-borns quite a few ranks. She still thought of him as a slimy git who just changed his mind after his side had lost. Runcorn had been part of the muggle-born investigation committee after all! The time she finally made it out of the ministry it was close to six thirty.

She usually never left before six but the prospect of visiting Malfoy Manor and a bunch of idiotic people had been too much for her nerves. She needed a good book and probably a huge pot of ice-cream. She apparated directly into her apartment and sunk down on her large comfortable couch without taking further notice of her surroundings as a soft familiar voice greeted her.

"Hello Hermione, you're late."

Leftovers of her war instincts kicked in as Hermione drew her wand and sprang a few feet away from the couch, staring at the intruding person. Her eyes were greeted by the sight of Ginny Potter; eyes red and puffy.

"Ginny!" She didn't lower her wand. "What did Harry Potter tell us about his death in the forbidden forest?"

The red-headed woman smiled sadly. "He met professor Dumbledore at Kings Cross and saw the piece of Voldemort's soul."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and finally lowered her wand, concern flickering in her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Gin? Something wrong?"

"I just needed to get away for a bit. Harry and I had a fight this afternoon. And it's not just that..." The red head lowered her gaze to her lap and sighed heavily. "I also fought with mum. It was pretty bad..."

Hermione sat down next to her friend and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't tell me this is still about you finally settling down from Qudidditch?"

"It is! Harry thinks that it's too dangerous and mum was more than ready to agree, starting the 'when you're going to be a mother'-story again. She absolutely craves grandchildren! But Harry needs to talk about dangerous things! He's away on auror business most of the time! I mean.. Does he expect me to sit at home alone all day; doing nothing but housework day in day out! I'm not my mum!" Ginny was sobbing now and Hermione absent-mindedly rubbed circles on her back.

"Guess I'm lucky that Ron and I didn't work out."

"Very. Hermione, you can't imagine what my dear mother told me!" Ginny's voice had reached the point where it could be considered as shrieking. "S-She told me that I was an awful wife and that I constantly neglect my duty because of a sport that was made for men!"

Hermione sighed. "You do know that's not true. You are a good wife to Harry and you are great at Quidditch, Ginny. Your whole team plays great, even I have to admit that! Harry loved playing Quidditch with you and he always admired your skills. Don't let it get under your skin. I think it's about time that your mother accepts that women are no longer bound to housework." Ginny freed herself from the embrace and looked at her friend.

"Oh that's not just it Hermione, there's something else! I don't know how to tell you but the sooner you know the better. I don't want you to find out when it hits the papers. Lavender was there."

Hermione's eyebrows rose. "Ron and her are getting married. It was one of those family get togethers but she insisted that you weren't invited because of your 'history' with Ron or else you would have witnessed the whole scene with your own eyes. They breached the news before dinner." The red head's voice had become quieter with each word and she looked at Hermione.

"I see. Well, I think they deserve each other. I know both of them and there is probably no other woman on this planet that could bear to be with Ron for longer than a few month." Hermione smiled; she truly was happy for Ron. He had hurt her deeply but deep down she still remembered him as the good friend she had had for so many years. If he had found his significant other she wouldn't stand in the way.

"But it's still not the end of the story. Lavender is pregnant! And when mum told me that I was neglecting my duties as a wife the cow openly agreed with her! She even dared to tell me that I should show more devotion towards Harry or else my husband might go and look for someone else! You can't imagine how happy my mother is that she is finally getting a daughter in law who shares her opinion!"

Hermione drew a sharp deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "She always was a cow and will always be. Believe me, I do know since I had to share a room with her at Hogwarts. What's more important is Harry. What did he say to all of those accusations?"

"Nothing Hermione, he said nothing! Absolutely nothing! I asked him but he just looked at me and kept silent. That's when I left... And on top of that he will leave early tomorrow morning for Bulgaria hunting down who knows whom and as much as I know; or rather: as much as I'm allowed to know, he won't be back before Christmas."

"Oh Gin... I can't believe that Harry didn't do anything about it... And as much as I'm thinking that you should go home and talk it over with him before he leaves for Bulgaria it really does look like we're both in need of a huge pot of chocolate ice-cream today." Hermione discarded her outer robes without bothering to get up and accioed her ice-cream and two spoons from the kitchen. She took a huge spoon full of the delicious chocolate ice-cream into her mouth.

"My day wasn't particularly good too."

Ginny brushed a few remaining tears from her face with her free hand. "Malfoy?"

"Exactly." Hermione shoved another spoon full into her mouth. "He invited me again to one of those stupid receptions. Oh and by the way, since he knows that we wanted to spend Halloween together you are invited too. I think you'll also get one of those preposterous invitations soon."

"What's so bad about an invitation from one of the most handsome and richest bachelors of this country?"

Hermione stared at her friend like she had grown horns and a second head. "The fact that it is Malfoy we're talking about? Tall, blond, Slytherin?"

Ginevra sighed. "Hermione listen.. You always talk about others being prejudiced against muggle-borns and the like. Don't you think that you are also prejudiced when it comes to him because you know the believes he grew up with? You've been working with him for years and as far as I know he does not threat you like you are a piece of dirt on his shoes. He keeps inviting you, no matter how often you turned him down before. I don't think that a Malfoy, as proud as they usually are, would do that for just anyone."

Hermione couldn't help but blush at the notion of prejudice. She had never seen it that way; to her the invitations had just been a bother and Draco Malfoy nothing more than a less stupid colleague she had to bear with. Ginny brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear and continued.

"I'll tell you this once. And you are not allowed to breath a single word of it to anyone! He is not as bad as you think! The year when you were away hunting Horcruxes I got imprisoned in the cellar of Hogwarts for talking back to Amycus Carrow. They ordered Draco to torture me but he never raised his wand against me without my consent. The time I was allowed to leave the cellar I looked like I had been tortured a great deal but the truth is that all we had been doing was... talk. He's not a bad person, probably never was."

"So you're saying that he did many of those things because they were expected of him, not because he wanted them?" Her friend smiled and nodded.

"Indeed, that's what I'm trying to say. Give the ferret-boy some credit, he can be quite nice. And if you want to go to that Halloween party I'd be honoured to accompany you."

They both giggled at the mention of ferret-Draco and Hermione quickly switched topics because she had no desire to talk about her fear of Malfoy Manor. It was something she had to do on her own in her own time and since it looked like Ginny wanted to go to the reception she figured that she didn't need extra pressure on that subject. She carefully licked more ice-cream from her spoon.

"How did you get into my apartment? My wards didn't warn me about any intruders."

"Mrs. Jenkins let me in."

Mrs. Jenkins was Hermione's landlady, a squib. When the war had ended Hermione had looked for a flat in Muggle London and ended up on Mrs. Jenkins doorstep after a disappointing day looking at various kinds of flats. They had either been too expensive or too shabby. The old lady always smiled when she told the story of how Hermione had found her. She had a friend charm the flat that only people who really were in need of a place to stay could find the sign that a flat was for rent and so Hermione had appeared at her house out of nowhere after she had given up on her search. Mrs. Jenkins lived on the ground floor while Hermione lived on the second. It wasn't that big but it was enough for one person and a cat and she also had a little lab set up in the basement.

She now was far more wealthier than she had been at the time when she rented it because she had received a big sum of money with her Order Of Merlin First Class and the translation of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" from ancient runes into modern English still filled her vault quite nicely. Not to forget that her salary at the ministry was more than just decent. Hermione knew that she could move into a house of her own or even buy a little manor for herself but she had absolutely no desire to do so. The old woman was almost like a grandmother to Hermione.

"Ah, that's why. I can also add your signature to my wards if you like, Gin. I hate to say it but with Lavender and your mum against you, you might need a place to hide where you can be undisturbed. Grimmauld Place won't do since your mother can enter it any time."

Ginny looked at her with gratitude written on her face. "Thanks Hermione. I really appreciate that."

Both women emptied the pot of ice-cream in silence until Hermione added her friend to her wards with a few calculated wand movements.

"I hope this will do. They will recognize you now so you can apparate in and out of here without a problem. Don't hesitate to do so even if it's in the middle of the night. I know how mean Lavender can be and I know your mother."

"Thank you, really."

"No problem. And now I think it is time that you go home and talk to Harry."

The red head sighed. "I know. Thanks, Hermione." She hugged her friend like they weren't going to see each other for a long time. "For everything."

"Any time. Let me know how it went."

"I will." Within the blink of an eye Ginny Potter disappeared, leaving a very thoughtful Hermione Granger behind.

* * *

AN: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, my life got totally messed up shortly after the last update... I got hospitalised because my stomach was acting up (it's still not back to normal yet), things at work went crazy and then there were finals for my apprenticeship... But it's fine now, so I think that I'll be able to post new chapters regularly.

Some people noticed that Lucius described the typical Gryffindor qualities wrong in Chapter 1 – yes, he did that on purpose to persuade Draco to follow the plan. If Draco still falls for his father's lies it's entirely his own fault, isn't it? *eg*

I hope you enjoyed this chapter; please review! :)


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